Excited that Pastor Pete Randall recently moved to the great city of Edmonton to start Citizens Church, a Calvary Chapel affiliate. Pete is an experienced pastor and Bible teaching. He served for several years at Calvary Chapel in Brandon, Florida.
If you know anybody in Edmonton that is looking for a good church, tell them about Citizens Church!
Welcome, Pete!
These last two weeks we have seen horrific terrorist attacks in central France and Mali. This misguided evil shocks us. I can’t imagine the memories etched into the minds of the survivors, those who were at the concert or hotel or restaurant and were blessed to keep their life. They will never be the same.
Hey everyone!
Wanted to let you know about a new work for the Lord happening in Waterloo, Ontario.
Their first service is Sunday, November 8, at 6:00pm at All Saints’ Anglican Church (400 Northfield Drive West, Waterloo)
If you know anybody in the area, let them know.
You can get more info here.
Hey everyone!
In lieu of my weekly devotional, I want you to watch this video. It’s less than two minutes. We recorded it last year in Costa Rica with the great team at Samaritan’s Purse.
Check it out and get ready to pack boxes!
It’s piercing. It immediately removes our cluttered pursuits and exposes the real issue. It is the question of a lifetime.
“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Matthew 12:31
Jesus is so loving and gracious. He forgives all our sin. His love pursues us.
In the kingdom of God, you will find people who have been guilty of all sorts of misdeeds, abominations and wicked actions. From fornication to murder, to pride and anger, yelling and violence. From thievery to self-abuse, adultery and alcoholism, hypocrisy, extortion, and all kinds of cheating lying and deception.
Many a wasted life has been restored by Jesus. That person that you sit next to on Sunday morning may have quite the checkered past. But they are saved and heaven-bound! No matter what you’ve done, there is a place at Jesus’ table for you. What a great and relentless love!
This forgiveness does not come without a cost. The heavy cost was paid as the perfect man died on the Cross of Calvary. Justice and mercy met together – and so we are saved!
But there is one sin that cannot be forgiven. It is the sin of lifelong rejection of Jesus. The Bible calls this the “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”
“…I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men, Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:31-32)
A gift that is never received can never be used.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit in the life of the unbeliever is to bring guilt of sin (John 16:8). If the guilty keep rejecting God, they can never be forgiven.
Do not harden your heart. If you need forgiveness, ask for it. Come to God through faith in Christ. And be forgiven forever!
If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you, it can be done right now through a simple prayer. Prayer is just talking to God. He can hear you, He knows you, and He love you. Here is a prayer that you can say right now.
Dear Jesus, please forgive me. I have sinned against You. Please rescue me. I want to follow You. I want to live my life for You. I invite You now, to be my Saviour and the King of my life forever. Amen.
If you live in the Oakville area, we invite you to join us for one of our Sunday services or other gatherings. All the info is on our home page. If you don’t live in the Oakville area, find a church by clicking here.
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“And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3)
John the Baptist was telling his world about Jesus. He was letting everyone know that the Messiah, the Saviour, had come! He told his own disciples that Jesus was the Saviour of the World. I love his words written in John’s gospel records when he sees Jesus walking: “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
John baptized Jesus. When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God descended upon Him, and the Father spoke from heaven. John witnessed all of this!
His message was one of righteousness and judgment. Luke 3 tells us that he was thrown in prison because he confronted Herod about an unlawful marriage. This guy had guts; he had spiritual zeal. He was a man of passion. In fact Jesus said “among those born of women there…was none greater than John the Baptist.” Yet in Matthew 11, we learn that John was dealing with unmet expectations. He sent his disciples to ask the Lord, “Are You the One, or should we look for another?”
John was going through a crisis of faith. He was in a season of doubt. He was at a place where life did not make sense. He was hearing about all the things that Jesus was doing for everyone else, yet he sat in a cold, dark, prison cell. I mean, come on, Jesus was his cousin! Why didn’t He come and get him out?
“Is God done with me? Did I blow it? What have I done to deserve this? I’ve got all these dreams in my heart! Is God really finished with me?”
These are similar to questions we ask. “Jesus, are you going to get me a new job or not? Jesus, are you going to fix my life, or not? Why don’t you heal me? Why don’t you fix my spouse?”
Like John, we can be impatient, we can misunderstand the agenda of our Lord. We look for an easier life, a better job, more money, a greater opportunity, or just any opportunity. We all go through this. We expect Jesus to do something. We believe our motives are pure. We know it would bring Him glory. But still He fails to come through.
Interestingly, John would not get out of prison. He would die by beheading.
He never saw the Resurrection.
He never saw the birth of the church.
He never saw Saul from Tarsus become Paul the Apostle.
So what do you do?
Looking at Matthew 11:1-6, I see three things that will help us deal with unmet expectations.
1. Send word to Jesus
“he sent two of his disciples.” (Matthew 11:2)
Ask the Lord. We can take our doubts and questions to the Lord. He can handle the toughest question. But also, ask your friends to pray for you. Ask your friends to go to Jesus on your behalf.
John was in a place where he could not go directly to the Lord. Now, of course, we can always approach the throne of grace, and we need to do so often. But when it’s hard to start praying yourself, get other people praying for you.
2. Remember who He is.
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matthew 11:4-5)
Jesus took John back to the Scriptures to remind him that His purpose for coming was bigger than what John realized. God will always be faithful to his word. He will not always be faithful to our expectations but He will always be faithful to His word. In our crisis of faith, we need to remember who God is and why He came. He came to save. He will eventually make all things right.
You may not get what you want on this side of eternity. But if you know Jesus, you are saved from eternal death and you have a glorious future ahead of you.
3. Don’t be offended.
“And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”(Matthew 11:6)
I love this concept. Don’t be offended when Jesus doesn’t do what you want Him to. “Well, Lord, even if you are not going to answer my prayer the way I think you should, I will still worship and love You.” When life doesn’t make sense, worship.
Don’t get mad at God.
Don’t think that God does not love you.
Don’t think that He has forgotten you.
Isaiah 55:8-9 helps a lot.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
So we rest in God and believe and trust in Him to do what is best despite our circumstances.
The Lord has given Calvary Chapel a unique place in ministry. Check out these great messages from Calvary Chapel pastors about the philosophy and style of ministry of our church.
We recently put up a page featuring Pastor Pat’s teaching through the book of Revelation. It’s the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it:
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)